Good evening DoD readers, and welcome to today’s District Daily. Get caught up on all things Washington Nationals with some great Nats articles from around the web below.
We start off today’s Daily with some interesting comments made by Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper following Monday’s disheartening loss to the Mets. As the Washington Post’s Chelsea Janes writes in her article below, Harper wasn’t too happy with the fact that many Nationals fans left the game early.
Here’s what Harper had to say about the atmosphere at Nationals Park:
"“I mean, they left in the seventh, so that’s pretty brutal,” Harper said. “I don’t know. Whatever.” (h/t Chelsea Janes, Washington Post)"
As Janes writes, Harper wasn’t wrong with his assertion that fans left the game early. The game started with a considerable crowd, but a large chunk of that crowd could be seen swarming towards the Metro station by the seventh inning.
Of course, there could be several reasons for the early departure of thousands of fans in Monday’s game—not the least of which being that today was the last day of a holiday weekend and many fans have work and school on Tuesday. It also didn’t help that the momentum of the ball game had made a dramatic shift in the Mets’ direction, and the Nationals didn’t have much chance of coming back from a three-run deficit in the late innings.
But in one of the most important games of the season and with the Nationals in the midst of the closest pennant race in team history, it’s not surprising that Harper (and other players, no doubt) was upset that fans didn’t stay until the end.
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Hopefully for the Nationals, the team will get back to its wining ways and salvage a series win over the Mets. If the team can fight its way back into the October conversation, the city will undoubtedly get more excited about the Nationals in the final month of the regular season. But in a sport in which players undoubtedly draw energy and adrenaline from the cheers of their fans, staying at the stadium and supporting the team until the end of every game could go a long way in inspiring the players to do better down the stretch.
Sticking to our theme of Harper, we continue today’s Daily with a very interesting article from the Post’s Thomas Boswell. In his article, Boswell discusses some comments made by Jayson Werth regarding Harper and how the young phenom has matured over the last few years.
Be sure to check out both articles below, they’re definitely worth a read. And as always, stay tuned to DoD for all your Washington Nationals needs.
Bryce Harper on Monday’s atmosphere: ‘They left in the seventh, so that was pretty brutal’
(Chelsea Janes, Washington Post)
When the Nationals are on the road, particularly when they are struggling there, Bryce Harper always talks about the importance of playing in front of his home crowd. When asked about the atmosphere at Citi Field in August, Harper praised the Nationals Park crowd instead. But after Monday’s 8-5 loss to the Mets, in what is arguably the most important regular-season series in Nationals history, Harper chose unfiltered honesty when asked about the atmosphere at Nationals Park.
“I mean, they left in the seventh, so that’s pretty brutal,” Harper said. “I don’t know. Whatever.” Read full article here.
Jayson Werth with some candid thoughts on the growth of Bryce Harper
(Thomas Boswell, Washington Post)
Since the day Bryce Harper arrived with the Nationals at the age of 19, veterans have watched and waited to see how he would develop as a player, but also as a teammate and eventually as a leader. At times, some have worried.
How do you cope with such fame as a teenager? How do you get a feel for being on a team — one among equals, relaxed, having fun but not stepping on toes — after a lifetime as the youngest player on every team (by years) or speeding through the minors without staying any place long enough to be part of a team? Read full article here.
Next: Bullpen Struggles In 7th Inning As Nats Lose 8-5 To Mets